Homophobia within the police hampers investigations into 'queerbashing' and murder, according to an independent review. The report was conducted by the Metropolitan Police's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Group (LGBT AG) and sanctioned by the Met itself.
Having studied ten murders of gay men and trans people beween 1990 and 2002, the report states that: "There were several investigations where we have deep reservations about the way in which the identity of the victim informed investigative decisions at the time. We also found evidence of inappropriate attitudes to the circumstances of some murders." In other words, the coppers didn't try very hard because they didn't think very highly of poofs.
Several commentators have already drawn comparisons with the Macpherson report into the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
The report calls for:
- better intelligence on known homophobes
- better protection for gay community areas
- a more effective system for warning people when particular locations become dangerous.
